Kaiko Research: Since the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut in September, Ethereum has underperformed Bitcoin due to weak institutional demand

Since the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points last month, Bitcoin's price has risen by 14%, breaking through $69,500 at one point in early trading on Monday. This is thanks to strong inflows into spot ETFs and improved risk sentiment. Although Ethereum has benefited from similar macroeconomic factors, its performance still lags behind Bitcoin, having risen about 12% since the Fed's rate cut on September 18.

In addition, according to a report released by Kaiko Research on Monday, the ETH/BTC exchange rate has fallen to its lowest level since April 2021, falling below 0.04 in October. The report pointed out that this decline highlights Ethereum's slower adoption speed compared to Bitcoin among institutions.
Analysts said that the persistent gap between Ethereum and Bitcoin can largely be attributed to the latter's first-mover advantage among institutional investors. They noted that open positions for Bitcoin CME futures recently hit a record high while CME’s Ethereum futures remain relatively low at 7,300 contracts (with a nominal value of $970 million).

The report stated: "Demand for Ethereum in the spot market has also been sluggish. In October, Ethereum's trading volume was less than most altcoins'. The volume gap between Ethereum and top-50 altcoins widened to its highest level since March." (The Block)